Los Angeles: ‘Stranger Things’ star Noah Schnapp has spoken out about the social media backlash over his viral “zionism is sexy” video.
In a new video shared on TikTok, the actor said that his views on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas “have been so far misconstrued”, reports aceshowbiz.com.
“I feel like my thoughts and beliefs have been so far misconstrued from anything even close to what I believe, and I wanted to just state from my heart how I feel,” the actor said in the Monday, January 15 video.
“I only want peace and safety and security for all innocent people affected by this conflict.”
He added that he’s “had many open discussions with friends from Palestinian background,” adding, “I think those are very important conversations to have and I’ve learned a lot.”
Schnapp, who is Jewish, went on to say: “We all hope for the same things, that being those innocent people still being held hostage in Gaza to be returned to their families, and equally hope for an end to the loss of innocent life in Palestine.
“So many of those people being women and children, and it’s horrible to see. I think anyone with any ounce of humanity would hope for an end to the hostility on both sides.”
“I stand against any killing of any innocent people and I hope you guys all do, too,” he continued.
“And I just hope to one day see those two groups be able to live harmoniously together in that region. And I hope for 2024 online to see people be a little more understanding and compassionate and recognize that we’re all human, regardless of our race, of our ethnicity, of our background, of our country of birth, even our sexuality, of anything.”
He concluded: “We are all human and we’re all the same and we should all love each other for that and support each other and stand together.”
The 19-year-old turned off the comment, but that didn’t stop Internet users from sharing their opinion on the video.
The actor drew backlash last November when a video of him laughing along with his friends who were holding stickers that read “Zionism is Sexy” and “Hamas is ISIS” emerged online. Among the critics at the time was Fifth Harmony member Lauren Jauregui, who accused Noah and his friends of “an enjoyment of bloodshed, an enjoyment of death.” John Cusack later retweeted Jauregui’s post.
–IANS